12 '90s Hard Rock Albums Everyone Should Own

Grunge’s great survivors had an incredible 1990s, with five records that could arguably have merited a place on this list. While debut Ten is the best known release, though, follow up Vs is the premier Pearl Jam release of the decade by virtue of its incredible quality control and the sheer variety of its writing.

Ten is good old fashioned anthem rock, but it’s about as subtle as a cannonball, and self indulgent in parts. Vs, meanwhile, is lean and mean, and shows off every faucet of the Seattle band’s many talents.

Tracks like “Animal” and "Glorified G" bristle with energy, and hit upon serious topics that exhibit their principles without becoming preachy (a skill they’d later lose). Elsewhere, “Daughter” is among the most beautiful songs in the group’s catalogue, and "Dissident" is the natural progression of the earlier album’s arena rock leanings.

Pearl Jam are a phenomenally consistent and resilient band, and their elder statesmen credentials can make it easy to forget how exciting a proposition they can be. Vs is a rarity in rock: the sound of a group that became a huge success and actually became more interesting.